[Perspectives of forensic psychiatry. A historical and current review]

Major lines of thought within the development of forensic psychiatry are discussed. The historical perspective will be helpful in creating a solid theoretical framework for the ongoing debate on the objectives and methods of forensic psychiatry as a scientific field and will support arguments against uncritical shortcomings and simplifications, so often met in recent years. Forensic psychiatry can only be understood properly in the context of general psychiatry, including its historical dimension. Significant neurobiological and neurophilosophical approaches to the mind-brain relationship in general and to the etiology of mental disorders in particular are outlined. Although to some psychiatrists they appear provoking or even threatening in a way, they offer the opportunity to rethink major conceptual issues within clinical and forensic psychiatry.